Raventós i Blanc Textures de Pedra Blanc de Negres 2013

This is a single vineyard wine from Raventós i Blanc. It’s Cava, but labelled as Conca del Rui Anoia because they were disappointed by the quality standards of most Cava producers. This wine is from Vinya Més Alta, which sits at the top of Turó del Serral, the hill on the 90 hecatare estate vineyard. It’s a bony, stony plot, farmed biodynamically, as are all the vineyard blocks here.

The wine is a blend of black grapes Xarel-lo, Sumoll and Bastard Negre. Until 2015 the latter was thought to be Monastrell but DNA testing showed it to be this now rarely grown variety, and it makes slightly rustic, structured wines with good acidity. The wine is quite lovely: taut and structured with potential for development.

‘We stand up for the huge potential that our terroir has for creating sparkling wines,’ say Raventós i Blanc on their website. It’s so refreshing to see producers like this take a terroir-driven approach.

Raventós i Blanc Textures de Pedra Blanc de Negres 2013 Conca del Riu Anoia, Spain
Full yellow colour with a hint of pink. Structured and focused with bright citrus fruit, some tangerine and a hint of red cherry. There’s a bit of grapefruit pith on the finish. Good acidity, with a dry palate and tight lemon and herb notes on the finish, as well as a bit of redcurrant briskness. This is a convincing, youthful, taut wine with intensity as well as delicacy. It tastes of its place, and I love it. 92/100